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Monthly Archives: December 2011

This the tenth day of my homage to our little 19 year old kitty Tiki who passed away this last December 23, 2011 at about 10:50am. We miss her like there is a piece of us missing. She was the glue that held me together as well as our household. She was a survivor from the first breath of life which was breathed into her by Jason who found her 20 minutes after he thought the birth was over. She was born not breathing and he cleared her mouth and in his hands cupped her whole head and breathed…. And then, she started to breathe. She died in his arms like she was born. We told her how much we loved her and that it was ok. To be brave.

I wish someone was telling me the same thing. Bravery to find a place to bury her. Bravery to grieve her. Bravery to emergency rescue another sweet dear kitty from sure death at 3pm on christmas eve. She gave up her life just in time for us to save little Arthur. We love you Tiki. We will NEVER FORGET YOU!! Thank you for all of your love and the scars too! We do so miss you. Rest in peace little one!

Sakai said it was emotional to have to close the family’s store, especially as longtime patrons like Sandy Morimoto-Dineen stopped by.

“I was literally born and raised here, just a couple of blocks away. I’ve been in the neighborhood,” she said. “I’m a third-generation Japanese-American and we’ve all been born and raised right here. It’s all family.”

Morimoto-Dineen said she’s come to Sakai Market for all her traditional Japanese groceries over the…

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She was going blind in her right eye, but those eyes could express more emotion than any animal i have ever seen. She was human-like in the way she could see through to your soul. I miss her so much. I love you Tiki!!

I was born and raised in this fine bay area of ours. Way back in 1989, i was living in Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County. I was at swim practice when the Loma Preita earthquake of 89′ hit. I was about 8 miles from the epicenter. I KNOW earthquakes. I know how lucky i was back then, to have had a pantry full of canned goods, a big deck and a bbq, Coleman camping equipment including a stove and lights, sleeping bags, and pet food right at hand. Our house did not fare too badly (unlike 2 friends of ours who lost their whole homes when they slid off their foundations which were on steep grades.) Our house kinda became the block depot. We all congregated around the pool and pretty much stayed outside for the most part for the first couple days due to our nerves and the after shocks.

I have lived 22 years since that day earthquake damage free. I know this is not going to last forever, but when it is too late, it is TOO LATE! It doesnt hurt me a bit to pull a few things here and a few there as i come across them and begin to build a survival kit. I will be thanking myself if we do end up having another big earth event (after seeing Japan’s tsunami, anything is possible and even more reason to!) and if we dont, i dont have to have any of the worry that i am unprepared.

Bottom line, it only takes a tiny bit of effort and a few minutes and it IS my New Years resolution for 2012 and it should be one of yours too!

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At the sweet old(er) age of 37, I have learned a lot of things about finding a career that works for you. When i was a kid growing up, there were not many avenues for those of us that fall under the category of “creative” without having it be within the conventions of any job with a degree. I took classes in high school that were aimed towards college prep. Nobody ever gave me the option of anything else. If i wanted a creative job outside of a college degree, i should go to beauty school. If i am a guy, i go to a trade school or start working in labor.

The idea of focusing my classes towards attending art school was not ever even brought up, which in retrospect if find very interesting considering that i was born and raised in Santa Cruz Ca. who prides itself on being an “artist town”. Supporting lovers of art, buyers of art but clearly not training of artists or supporting of emerging artists. It is an expensive town, so it doesn’t really support artists making a home and even a living there. You have to just have rich art buyers of already established artists to call yourself an “artist community”. Considering how locals love their art, never once did anybody ever talk about the idea that there art schools all over the US that specialize in art, and that IS a valid alternative to universities.

I have never done well in conventional learning environments. I never wanted to go to 4 years of college (5 or 6 years probably these days). I never wanted to go to work in the financial district or for corporate America, nor did i want to be a hairdresser. I did not know what my options were but the ones being presented to me, did not sound appealing.

Both of my parents resisted the idea of me becoming an artist when i finally came to them at the age of 27, telling them i was going to go for it. They told me it was ok for art to be a “hobby” but i would still need to get a “real job” and i could do my hobby in my free time. This was a real blow for me. Especially because i actually had an uncle (my mom’s brother who has now passed) who was actually a very very successful professional artist with permanent installations all over the US. He and his wife (Dick and Jane, reflectorart.com look it up, they have a house that is on the aaa guide of roadside attractions!) (keep an eye for an upcoming post on my Aunt and passed Uncle, Dick Elliott & Jane Orleman.) was the one who gave me hope and kept my head up when i was getting negative support from my parents. He gave me incredibly good advise. Not easy advice but good advice. (and not all that I have taken and probably why i am not at all as far as i would have liked to be right now with establishing myself as a working, successful artist.)

Anyways as i sit here thinking about the youth of today, i think they have it a little better if they are the creative type then I did at the time I was their age. There are many more areas of creativity that one can make a living at these days with technology integrated into our lives. And if the interest lies in an even more specialized creative field, they have the ability and the know to go research their options. At that age for me, i just had to rely on the knowledge of those around me to know what was out there and how to break into that field.

Close minded people were the biggest hurdle for me to find my place in a creative world. It has taken me to not accept the thoughts that there is no point in trying, because hardly anybody actually succeeds in those fields, and instead telling myself i have nothing to lose trying. Anybody will NOT succeed at ANYTHING they want to do if they don’t ever try. If you give it your all and fail, at least you can say you did and it didn’t work, but if you don’t ever even give it a shot, then you will without a doubt never make it in that field. You are taking your odds down to 0% chance if you never try.

I believe that if you don’t really find something interesting and can become fascinated with, you will never succeed at maintaining passion with that job. If your interest is chasing the mighty green dollar no matter what the job, than that is your fascination and that will keep you interested enough to succeed. If you love animals, then that is where you should be looking to find something that will keep you interested in what you do for the long term. If you chose a career that only works for you because there is a growing industry in that field but it doesn’t really interest you, you may have a career in that field, but i have a feeling, you may end up one of those people who feel empty in their lives down the road.

Bottom line… Do what you love and you will always be successful. If you know where your passion lies, then there is a job for you in that field if you look hard enough. What i always suggest to do if you are having a hard time landing a steady employment in a company or field that you KNOW you love, volunteer or intern for a short time. It may seem like you are working for free initially, but the connections and being on the inside may just make that time the best investment you ever can make because you will finally have access to what you are passionate about, that you can build your future around.

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One morning i woke up to find Tiki in the middle of my legs on top of the comforter. She was on her back and stretched her back legs straight up. I guess this felt great because she left them sticking straight up. She looked like she was being held up! Slowly she revealed where she had her head hiding and what direction she was in. It was really funny. I had to take these photos to remember and i sure am glad i did. Miss you little critter!

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Our dearest Tiki even at a mere 18 years of real age, she still can out bend the rest of us! Tiki died within 4 months of this video. It was a very sudden and violent death that our household is still recovering from but on this video helps us remember all of the joy she brought us at our house. We love and miss you little one!

My little companion Tiki who passed away suddenly and violently 2 days ago, was one extremely traumatic experiences i have ever experienced. One of the reasons was because her youthful spirit. Every day we would forget that she was 16, or 17, or 18, or even 19. She only started to show any decline in september when she began losing weight. But not too much and she still had spunk. Just to immortalize that fact, i give you a video of Tiki playing just 20 days before her aweful end. She was actually playing like this the night before she died, but i knew there was something really wrong. Boy was i unfortunately right. I miss you like the world little tickerdoodle my persnickity tickity!

Ok, for the eve before Christmas eve, i honor my little critter by sharing one of our most favorite playtime events… Videos For Cats! She loved them! Especially the squirrels and cardinals. Keep in mind that Tiki is 18 years old in this video. She was so healthy until her quick but violent end.

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Life is so ephemeral. It slips by so fast! We look up and we are long past where we feel we actually should be. A lot closer to death. Our energy slows down, our bodies heal slower, our vision begins to slip and then the health problems can set in.

In our hearts though, we are just as sensitive, curious, excited, and afraid. We also have in our hearts the want to feel the music through our bodies. I take my hat off to these gentlemen. They are thoroughly enjoying still kicking it out on the dance floor.

We should all take a note from these smart guys.. There is no better way to let out stresses of our lives than through music and dance. I always use the concept, doesn’t matter what you look like (or how foolish you may think you look) If you are having a lot of fun, that is all that counts. Go on out there and look like an uncoordinated fool. Who cares. If you have a smile on your face, you can only help to bring the energy some joy!

Yesterday morning our dear cat of 19 years… (she has been mine for the last 2), died a traumatic and horrific death. I am in shock and therefor not my usual skippy self. I plan on taking time away to put together a Tiki Memorial which i will post here. I just wanted to explain why my header is not Mt. Sutro right now and my page is in black… It is still active and you have found it but it is experiencing some deep sadness and am in deep mourning.

Miss you little critter!

Tiki in the sun 2011

If you or a loved one has recently lost a beloved pet, the SPCA recommends the following reads…

Reading Materials

Grieving the Death of a Pet
By Dr. Betty Carmack, R.N., Ed.D., Augsburg Publishers 2003

One of the things i have ALWAYS always gone out of my way to do, because i have always been drawn to it… is gift wrapping. My gift may not always be the most expensive or the most exciting, but i promise that i always take a second to wrap it with style. Sometimes this means making due with what you have, sometimes you chose to do something you have a vision of… but mostly it is making due with what is accessible, left over, or can get creative enough to make work. But even when i worked in retail, i ALWAYS ended up wrapping everyone’s gifts. It was fun. It still is.

For this package, i wanted it to look pretty and kinda cool. it is for my niece. I had some boxes that i had received from MAC cosmetics so i used one of those, some tissue paper that i got for free from a local gift shop that i had asked for when i had bought something else earlier. (it is always a great idea to ask for a little bit of free tissue paper if you buy something in a gift store. Tell them you plan on wrapping it at home and just want the tissue to wrap it in. You will love how you receive a very different variety of papers which can come in handy as it did here tonight!)

All you need is…

scissors

glue or glue stick

a piece of holiday paper to cover shipping label on box

transparent tape

decorative tissue paper

ribbons

bell

Lets begin ok?

Okay… first step…

the supplies you will need.

step 2... cover mailing label on box.

Step 3... Wrap box in beautiful paper or tissue paper like here.

Step 4... ribbon... where do i start!

…Just a little note about ribbon. I highly recommend that you go to a fabric or craft store to get your ribbon. Fabric ribbon really makes a package feel elegant and it is reusable. You can get little spools of ribbon for (sometimes less) as much as you would pay for a yard of the displayed bolts. There are always remainders or these like the spools above which are made to be sold in the spool for really cheap. Some of those i paid a dollar for others $1.50. They last for a long time and can be used for other applications as needed. Well worth a $10 investment! By the way, i have had these for at least 5 years and i am finally using the last of them up… they are fantastic to have on hand period. With fancy ribbon, you can use packing paper, news paper or butcher paper and they will look fantastic!

Step 5... Attach bell

Finished package #1

And that is it, aside from a tag but i will probably make a card for her instead… i will post it when i have it finished.

Lets see if my friends younger brother can take it to the bank! Dont forget to tune in this Wed. at 8pm on Fox to find out!

Chris Rene is the youngest brother of my good friends from High School. Both Gabe and Gina Rene have been working in music for over a decade. They have success on their own merit due to the quality and just plain good grooves of their material. Gabe has been an original member of Soulstice who is on OM’s Record label. Gina has begun an adventure in solo artistry so watch for all 3 of the Rene clan to fill our ear and air waves!!

It is quite a bit longer than the other ones i have used in the past. I really thought i got 100% but not even I pulled that. I came close though with a 7 out of 99. A score i can live with but would have rather gotten 0 since i pride myself on my color training. Try it and tell us what score you achieved!

There is a monster among us preying on the ladies walking through the mission. He has attacked on 24th st., potrero and 25th as well as fair oaks. And dont think you are safe as long as the sun is up. The last attack happened at 6:30 am to a woman walking to 24th st. bart.

These attacks are especially brutal as well. Neighbors reported puddles of blood on the ground as well as one victim with a broken neck who is now in the hospital. Word says that it doesnt matter if you try and fight back or not to effect the degree of brutality he inflicts. He attacks from behind and beats then rapes and robs his victim.

There is video from a neighbor’s security camera but unfortunately when he comes into the light, he turns away from the camera.

There is also a sketch of the perp.

Police released an updated sketch of the suspect.

Please contact the police if you have ANY information that can help bring this evil man to justice and allow our neighborhood to feel safe again.

That’s right folks. The Good Life is right here in Bernalwood! And you too can go to their produce isle to dream like i do! It just amazes me every time i get to the end of the frozen food isle, stop, look forward and left…. Perfect PERFECT isle and end caps! The most beautiful and might I say amazing foods! ( The Good Life supports a lot of local organic foods to stock their lovely store with!) …and they always are in the most picture perfect stacks. I could spend a good chunk of minutes observing the beautiful vegetables and fruits. It is a great escape!

Once you get closer, you can really see what they have stocked up there. They don’t have a huge space to display their goodies but the space they have is used so well, i have actually found amongst the staples, some really wild and exotic produce.

So without further ado… I present you, some of the latest things that caught my eye at…

THE GOOD LIFE’S PRODUCE ISLE!

…This one in the center above is a broc0lli! It sure would impress my friends at my next dinner party!

…

At our favorite healthy market on Cortland & Andover, the Good Life, I have become somewhat obsessed with their produce/veggy isle/section. “APPLAUSE” for you produce meistro! You keep your section so perfect at any time at all, that i can come and sly like snap these photos of your beautiful and unusual bounty of earth’s goodness….

So this had me in stitches! I thought it was just great. Our elusive yeti on pavement! I stopped in at Chucks to get a soda and then continued on up to Holly park. When my friend and i got to the top of the stairs, I couldn’t believe it!! There she was again! Our Bikini jogger immortalized again in paint.

bikini jogger strikes holly park and leaves her mark!

I am going to be keeping my eyes peeled for any more of these. I wonder if they are being put up along her path? I will have to do some recon work and get back to you ok! In the meantime keep your eyes peeled! Our elusive Yeti is still here with us in Bernalwood!

Hello there San Francisco! More specifically Bernalwood! I have to show you the most incredible fake mustache collection i have ever found in the city. You can find the wall of stash at our lovely neighborhood gift store Heartfelt. Stop in and be wow’d by the extent of faux stashes! Maybe it will move you to have a Mustache Themed party!!